The Winter of 2025 saw Los Angeles stricken by rapidly growing and destructive wildfires. Although the most destructive of the fires were put down or contained by February 3, the city is still undergoing extensive recovery. To assist in the recovery, there are many who give their time and skill to those in need. However, insurance companies throughout the state of California have deemed the area too prone to natural disasters and have started dropping homeowner insurance policies, leaving many without the funds to rebuild.
Thankfully, California has robust relief programs for Los Angeles, including First Responder and County Support Funds, which assist firefighters and front-line personnel, and Housing Relief, which help citizens rebuild their lives by providing displaced families and individuals with housing and relocation assistance.
Although there are many support groups helping people out, insurance companies haven’t been as reliable to the people of LA. The companies are refusing to give money to the people who have lost their homes, resulting in the citizens to start suing the companies. This has led to more people stepping up to be helpers.
Justin Malicziczn, who is a case support specialist who lives in California, was able to take a job to help those affected after the recent fires. Malicziczn takes the case info from their system then he passes it on to the attorneys who then takes the cases to court. In an interview with the Lancer Ledger, when asked why the insurance companies refused to give money to the people who lost their homes, Malicziczn answered, “Because of the mass amount of damage, the insurance companies can’t afford to send out money to every single person who has damages in general.”
Throughout the conversation, the idea that large numbers of people are demanding their funds from insurance companies and their requests are being denied kept coming up. People who have been paying the companies for years feel that their money is wasted and the companies that have been sued are expected to end up bankrupt since contracts are not being fulfilled.
While people are trying to sue the companies in order to get their money back, others, from LA all the way to San Diego, are getting jobs in order to help LA fully recover back to its original state. Jobs have been opening up for people to help out from removing mass amounts of rubble and debris that came from buildings and structures to employing housekeepers to remove the ash from damaged homes.
The City of Angels had an unprecedented amount of wildfires this past year due to the amount of dryness that comes from a mixture of less than average rainfall in the area, which was around 10% less since October 1, 2024, along with the fierce offshore winds. A quick spark to the land created the wicked wildfires which practically destroyed Los Angeles.
Overall, the LA wildfires have caused a lot of problems for California communities, but with a lot of help and hard work, the city should be restored back to its original beauty.
